Seoul (Part 2), South Korea

I had to spend 3 more days in Seoul before flying back home to the USA. I made my way back to the guesthouse which I stayed at previously here and found the same roommates, whom I saw more than a week ago, still there.

That evening, our guesthouse had a free dinner so several people staying there showed up to eat and drink. Some people boozed pretty heavily only Korean soju, beer, and “makolli” (a Korean rice wine). A Danish guy then brought out his stash of several different hard liquors which he brought all the way from Denmark, each one bearing a 40% alcohol rating. Needless to say, whoever took a few shots from that ended up pretty drunk soon after.

(Hostel mates.)

The next morning, I missed the DMZ tour. (My story on this a few entries below.) That afternoon, I was about to head out to the Biwon Secret Garden to relax, read, and take my mind off my mistake when I got invited to go visit a park somewhere in Seoul with several people. We took a car and drove about an hour north of Seoul where we visited an observatory where we could see North Korea. I guess all was not lost when I missed the DMZ tour. After that, we visited Heyri Art Valley, a place where all the buildings in it had unique architecture but had a creepy air about it. My friend Alex, whom I met on an African safari, cooked me dinner that night.

(What a North Korean classroom would look like.)

(What a North Korean’s home would look like.)

The next day, I decided to hang out with my dorm mates (Yuki, Sophie, and Yasmine). We bought some “gim bap” and sushi and headed out the Yeuido Park to picnic under cherry blossoms. After that, I accompanied Yuki to Heyri as he’s an architecture student and Heyri was a great spot for architecture buffs. At night, Yuki and I went to go meet up with my friend Josh for one last Korean dinner.

(Yasmine, Sophie, Yuki.)

(Chicken bbq dinner.)

All of us had to pack that night because we would leave for the airport at the same time the next day since our flights were almost the same time.